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Kipenzi finds her own lettuce

Kipenzi finds her own lettuce

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Food is a way to a gorilla’s heart and it doesn't matter what age you are....Kipenzi, our youngest gorilla, is not only finding her independence and giving Kriba her mother a little more exercise around the exhibit these days, but she is really starting to find her way around the food we provide on a daily basis. Gorillas are vegetarians of the rainforests and can consume over 100 different plant species in the wild. As keepers we try and vary our gorillas’ diets with lots of leafy green vegetables and an array of different plant branches every day. At 21/2 years of age, Kipenzi's diet mainly consists of her mother's milk and will do so for at least another two years, but she is now discovering that her mother’s food is just as good. Keepers for the first time saw Kipenzi enjoying a full lettuce on her own which is rare in any gorilla family, as most times the adults get all the food until the youngsters can fight for it themselves. Kipenzi quickly destroyed the lettuce by ripping and pulling it apart, eating the middle out and leaving alot of lettuce mess, but she was enjoying it, as it was all hers. [nodepicker==video==9110==no-lightbox==size_535_327]

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